Spring 2007

IN DECEMBER, MAYOR Tom Menino made headlines when he announced in a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce that he wanted to sell Boston’s City Hall and its barren plaza and build a gleaming new waterfront seat for city government. But it was another declaration that caused leaders in the state’s higher education(...)

though state finances are back at a point where almost everyone agrees that spending must be brought “under control,” Massachusetts already has fewer government employees, when taking into account our size, than most other states. Part of this is because bigger states tend to get by with proportionately smaller staffs. But the Bay State is(...)

one of matt Storin’s last assignments before he retired as editor of The Boston Globe was to carry out a painful round of downsizing. It was the spring of 2001, and-in what has become a familiar story-circulation and advertising revenues were falling at the Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, both of which, then(...)

UPDATE: To get FY 2010 data on the percentage of each community’s revenue that comes from property tax, download an Excel file or PDF. You can also go to the Department of Revenue’s data bank. Our maps and charts were created by combining the DOR’s spreadsheets on municipal budgeted revenues by source (which do not(...)

at the core of MassINC’s mission is the belief that all citizens of Massachusetts should have the opportunity to pursue the American dream. And as we’ve written in this space before, a college education is fast becoming a prerequisite for living that dream. College graduates have a much better chance to earn the income needed(...)

first-time visitors to the Massachusetts House of Representatives are struck by its beauty and grandeur. The royal blue carpeting, the walls of rich, Honduran mahogany, and the massive electronic roll-call boards are striking. More distinctive are the Sacred Cod, the five murals by Albert Herter known collectively as “Milestones on the Road to Freedom,” and(...)

this spring, al gore testified before Congress on global warming, which he considers an imminent threat to the survival of the planet. When Sen. James Inhofe began his questioning, he dismissed Gore outright, referring to “peer-reviewed scientists” who are “radically at odds with your claims.” Gore paused, as if to say three “one-one thousands.” Then(...)

despite recent downward pressure on home prices, the cost of housing remains a major concern for nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts residents, according to a poll released in February by the University of Massachusetts and the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association. The same poll found that residents overwhelmingly support the construction of affordable housing-even in their(...)

edward kennedy has been getting an earful of late. And since the subject of the senator’s listening sessions is the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, which he played a key role in passing and is up for reauthorization this year, the commentary hasn’t always been kind. It would be an understatement to say the(...)

five years ago, I wrote an article for The Boston Globe about home-based, high-tech businesses in my Amherst neighborhood. I had no idea that what seemed to be a minor trend would eventually hold huge significance for the U.S. economy, thanks in part to the Baby Boomer generation. I called these businesses “hidden tech” for(...)